No. 1 Three weeks into the new basketball season and the Bishop McDevitt boys and Middletown girls were unbeaten, as were the Palmyra girls, who moved to 5-0 with a 36-23 win over Mechanicsburg on Dec. 16 in Mid-Penn Keystone Division play. Bucknell-bound Carly Richardson again led the Cougars with 15 points.
No. 2 Sophomore Ja'Lynn Burton-Jones and junior Jey Rivera have been the offensive forces for the Blue Raiders, who disposed of Milton Hershey on Dec. 13, 47-28, as Burton-Jones scored 17 and Rivera added 11. Middletown was up 45-15 after three quarters. The Blue Raiders added a 42-29 win over East Pennsboro on Dec. 17 as Burton-Jones scored 18 and Halle Marion added nine.
No. 3 The Bishop McDevitt boys escaped Hershey with a 65-63 Mid-Penn Keystone Division win on Dec. 16, behind 14 from Justin McArthur and 13 from Donte Vaughn to move to 4-0 on the year.
No. 4 The Bishop McDevitt football team had to settle for No. 2 in the state for the third time in four years, but it was still a season worth remembering. The Crusaders lost to Archbishop Wood 22-10 on Dec. 13 at Hersheypark Stadium. They held a 3-0 halftime lead, before Wood running back Jarrett McClenton took over the second half on his way to 242 yards rushing on 40 carries with two TDs.
No. 5 The Crusaders had some heroic performances from several players, including senior Bobby Zwigart, who went high in the air to snare an errant snap that kept McDevitt in the game. Defensively, seniors Steve Marrazzo, Mike Perloski and Nate Monroe did their best against a huge Wood offensive line.
No. 6 At most schools, four straight district championships and three appearances in the PIAA Class AAA final in four years would be enough, but not at McDevitt. "There are no moral victories at Bishop McDevitt," coach Jeff Weachter said. "We need to get bigger and better. We've got to get over the hump and win one of these."
No. 7 There are plenty of underclassmen returning next year at McDevitt, including quarterback Nick Marsilio, star running back Andre Robinson, wide out Kobay White, nose tackle Myles Turner and linebackers Jake Phillips, Que'Shawn Jenkins and Greg Artis-Payne, whole older brother, Cameron, is a running back for the Auburn Tigers.
No. 8 Among the McDevitt alumni on the sideline were last year's standouts Alec Werner, who enjoyed a good freshman year at QB for Kutztown University, and wide receiver Brian Lemelle, who saw action as a freshman at UConn.
No. 9 Palmyra junior Katie Dembrowski had a good day on Dec. 16 when she found out she was named second-team All-American by the National Field Hockey Coaches' Association. She followed that by announcing she'd be attending Penn State University to plat field hockey. "It's so close," she said. "It'll give my family and friends an opportunity to see me play."
No. 10 Dembrowski, a District 3 champ in field hockey and basketball and a district and state champ in track in the 4 X 800 relay, suffered a broken wrist in the PIAA-AA field hockey playoffs. She hopes to return to basketball by mid-January for the second half of the season. She helped Palmyra go 29-1 a year ago in basketball before the Cougars lost to Scranton Prep in the PIAA-AAA quarterfinals.